I'm currently on a job hunt. I've applied to 20+ positions. For most of them I'd consider myself a well-, and in some cases overly, qualified candidate. Yet, for some reason, my resume seems to disappear into the HR blackhole. Just wondering how many jobs some of you BF folks have applied to before you got an interview/job offer.

I have really good luck and have almost always got an interview (and job) after submitting an application. Knowing someone like a manager at the hiring company helps a ton. Make sure to keep good relations with all your supervisors, present and past, they may move on to better places and can be a good resource if you are in need of employment at a later date.

Also, people that you studied with can be a great asset. Two of my buddies from tech school tried to scoop me up as soon as I graduated from college. I know of quite a few more that could probably get me into a comfortable positions (money-wise) pretty easily.

ianjk is correct. In addition, make sure you treat your resume as a key-word searchable document. Many HR departments electronically scan resumes looking for key words that would be applicable to the position. If there's no match then your resume gets discarded.

Are you guys all serious? Although I got my current job pretty quickly (I heard about the position from a guy within the company), the process for my last job was painful. I must have sent out 20 or more applications, including to places I really didn't want to work but had openings.

I had three interviews (one at a company I knew nothing about and didn't want to work at) and two offers. Fortunately, the offers I got were at places I actually wanted to work... but the whole process was frustrating. Keep at it, and try as much as possible to actually meet people in the areas you're interested in working (as iankj said, networking is key).

I'd never heard of the keyword search, but it is important to pay attention to details on your CV. In my last job, I received countless applications for internships that I simply rejected because of spelling errors. Seeing as the main job of the interns was to edit documents, spelling errors on a CV were a pretty clear sign that the applicant was a bad fit for the job.

Are you guys all serious? Although I got my current job pretty quickly (I heard about the position from a guy within the company), the process for my last job was painful. I must have sent out 20 or more applications, including to places I really didn't want to work but had openings.

I had three interviews (one at a company I knew nothing about and didn't want to work at) and two offers. Fortunately, the offers I got were at places I actually wanted to work... but the whole process was frustrating. Keep at it, and try as much as possible to actually meet people in the areas you're interested in working (as iankj said, networking is key).

I'd never heard of the keyword search, but it is important to pay attention to details on your CV. In my last job, I received countless applications for internships that I simply rejected because of spelling errors. Seeing as the main job of the interns was to edit documents, spelling errors on a CV were a pretty clear sign that the applicant was a bad fit for the job.

Are you guys all serious? Although I got my current job pretty quickly (I heard about the position from a guy within the company), the process for my last job was painful. I must have sent out 20 or more applications, including to places I really didn't want to work but had openings.

I had three interviews (one at a company I knew nothing about and didn't want to work at) and two offers. Fortunately, the offers I got were at places I actually wanted to work... but the whole process was frustrating. Keep at it, and try as much as possible to actually meet people in the areas you're interested in working (as iankj said, networking is key).

I'd never heard of the keyword search, but it is important to pay attention to details on your CV. In my last job, I received countless applications for internships that I simply rejected because of spelling errors. Seeing as the main job of the interns was to edit documents, spelling errors on a CV were a pretty clear sign that the applicant was a bad fit for the job.

Good luck with your search!

I've been lucky, I tend to know people and get brought in. I almost always have to work my way up but for me, its all about the networking.

Take this job, I escaped ontario 8 years ago, moved out here and got a job where I am now, in security. I wrote a neat little program to track lost and found items etc. The IT department saw it and hired me, 8 year later I have eliminated all 7 jobs (they would quit, I would come up with a way to make the job run without them, eventually my boss left and I did his job too) and run the department on my own. Luck, skill and networking (literally and figuratively) all helped.

I also tend to avoid purely corporate situations, too much red tape in everything. Might change if I am ever forced to live in a city again, but in my neck of the woods, I know every IT person and every position available.

I used to do recruiting, and really, it depends. What kind of job are you looking for? How qualified/overqualified are you? Are you applying for openings or sending blind resumes? The economy is slow in several categories, so it may just be timing. Let us know more specifically what you're looking for, you never know who around here knows something.

I personally am probably no longer any help beyond advice, I gave up industry and became a teacher.

I need to hire people in the Atlantic Southeast(Preferably VA) and the Midwest (Madison, WI). Hopefully something soon in the Colorado area. Tech/Engineering jobs with a mix of IT and robotics. I would venture out to say that there are several other people here in the same boat as me.

I used to do recruiting, and really, it depends. What kind of job are you looking for? How qualified/overqualified are you? Are you applying for openings or sending blind resumes? The economy is slow in several categories, so it may just be timing. Let us know more specifically what you're looking for, you never know who around here knows something.

I personally am probably no longer any help beyond advice, I gave up industry and became a teacher.

+1 on becoming a teacher. It takes a lot of sacrifice to go in that direction. My wife (who still lives in Louisiana while I'm here in NC) is wanting to get out of her job to become a teacher here.

That's the sacrifice I was referring to. She taking her certification test this weekend for NC. If I hear her complain about having to study for it anymore I'm going to make her stay there and jump off a bridge.

I've been applying to Environmental Scientist positions (ecological surveys, NEPA, wetland delineation, etc.) at consulting firms in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern US. I've got a BS and MS in wildlife biology and 5 years experience as a researcher. I've had an interview with a regional firm, but haven't heard anything back from the larger (multinational) firms.

I've contemplated the teaching route but just don't think I've got the patience.

Are there social activities that environmental scientists tend to gravitate toward? I ask because if you can get to know people in the industry in a social setting, that could help a lot (again, networking). When I was looking for my previous job in PR, I was told without any sort of irony to start hanging out in bars more. I actually got my current job (as a journalist) in part by bumping into a guy I knew from high school at a bar. It works.

Since I got laid off last Fall...I've put in well over 20 job apps/resumes. The vast majority of them I was fully qualified for. I've had exactly four interviews, three in person and one over the phone. I didn't get any of the jobs. The rest I either never heard back from. I've already got two jobs to interview for where I'm moving to. The job market where I currently live just sucks royally.

Are there social activities that environmental scientists tend to gravitate toward? I ask because if you can get to know people in the industry in a social setting, that could help a lot (again, networking). When I was looking for my previous job in PR, I was told without any sort of irony to start hanging out in bars more. I actually got my current job (as a journalist) in part by bumping into a guy I knew from high school at a bar. It works.

I'm hiring for 1 administrative assistant position and I was buried in resumes like never before.

__________________"Real wars of words are harder to win. They require thought, insight, precision, articulation, knowledge, and experience. They require the humility to admit when you are wrong. They recognize that the dialectic is not about making us look at you, but about us all looking together for the truth."

__________________"Real wars of words are harder to win. They require thought, insight, precision, articulation, knowledge, and experience. They require the humility to admit when you are wrong. They recognize that the dialectic is not about making us look at you, but about us all looking together for the truth."

I'd rather go to the dentist than a job interview.. I hate the whole process, I hate when you know the interview isn't going well, but they still lie to your face and say they will call. I also hate the stupid thank yous and follow ups that are almost a bigger pain in the butt. I know good and well I have been called into an interview as a minority client and they were disappointed when I showed up white. My last name and address probably tell them I am black. I hate when you apply for a job your overqualified for and still can't get an offer ... what the hell I guess I'm an idiot ... I'm not ugly or fat(anymore) or anything. I think some jobs are posted and never filled they just waste people's time. I have to take a vacation day to do an interview, so If you don't intend to hire me please don't offer me an interview. </rant>